Excellent doco about one of the most fascinating musical figures of the late 20th century. It reminded me in some ways of that doco on Joe Strummer (though this is superior filmmaking) as we see the evolution of someone becoming the coolest dude on the planet. He starts as a gawky half caste kid growing up in rural poverty, then urban poverty, singing not-very-popular records, an outsider because of his background... but then discovering women, his talent, fame, marijuana, politics and turning into a legend, complete with an early death.
My knowledge of Marley was sketchy so this was illuminating - the white father, the relatives who snubbed him (and caused him hurt), the sheer amount of women (one of whom was Miss Jamaica) and illegitimate children (several of whom are pop stars), his overwhelming popularity with white audiences - and failure to cross over to black Americans which annoyed him no end (is there anything whiter than a white raggae fan?), having an affair with the daughter of an African dictator, the silly elements of Rastafarianism (the Ethiopian Emperor as the descendant of Christ), bringing up two opposing Jamaican leaders at a concert, being shot by political elements prior to a concert, ignoring the melanoma on his toe which led to his death, final days in Germany (Bob Marley in a white snowy Europe), his party house, having countless affairs on tour while his wife was a back up singer, being competitive with his kids, his devotion to physical fitness despite sucking back the cones, old school band intrigues, his anger and fury at being told he wasn't going to live.
There are some great talking heads like Bunny Wailer, plus the charisma of Chris Blackwell, the hurt of his kids and wife, stunning Jamaican photography. It's a superb doco and a credit to all who worked on it.
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